Improved Rams get 2nd shot at Mustangs

Skyline QB Chase Dunford runs the ball for the Eagles, as Taylor Carlson defends for the Titans, in prep playoff action Oct. 30. (Rick Egan / The Salt Lake Tribune)

It was a night for the fans to forget; but not the players. In week one of the football season, Mountain Crest visited Highland, both teams were highly ranked in 4A and were carrying high expectations into the season opener.

The Mustangs dominated the Rams that night, as quarterback Alex Kuresa picked apart an inexperienced Rams secondary, putting the game out of question early in the third quarter. Mountain Crest went on to bury the rest of its competition, save for a loss the next week to 5A Lone Peak, and win Region 5. Highland struggled through the next few weeks, starting the season 1-3. But the Rams haven't lost since then and the rematch with Mountain Crest on Friday means a lot more than that week one thrashing.

There's not much that hasn't changed for Highland. Quarterback Mason Keller took his lumps against Mountain Crest the first go around, struggling in his first games as a starter. But he's succeeded against some tough competition since then, leading his team to a region championship and the quarterfinals. Toi Taufa has had his hand in his team's success as well, rushing for more than 1,000 yards on the season, and he scored two touchdowns in Highland's first-round win over Orem.

"We all came together and care so much about each other now," Taufa said.

It probably didn't hurt that a green secondary grew up, a rattled quarterback became a playmaker and an exposed defense became dominant. This isn't the same Highland Ram team

"We're ready to get our revenge on Mountain Crest," Taufa said.

Set 'em up and knock down. That's all the Park City Miners have done all season long. Once the playoffs started, nothing changed as Park City ran over Grantsville 57-28 to advance to the quarterfinals. And it was in typical fashion as tailback Dylan Chyonweth scored four times and quarterback Erik Walker scored three touchdowns. Coach Brandon Matich was impressed with the play of his offensive line.

"We're getting a lot of bodies downfield and blocking second level," he said. The team stayed pretty true to the triple option and didn't dig too deep in the playbook. Defensively, 28 points is too many to give up for a championship team so Matich plans to do some work on that side of the ball this week. More than anything, he wants his team to improve its perimeter denfense, especially looking forward to Park City's matchup with Delta on Friday against Rabbit running back Derek Peterson.

"He's quick and he can turn the corner in a hurry," Matich said. That quickness helped Peterson score three times against Judge Memorial in the first round. Matich trusts that his players can keep their momentum going. They've been deep in the playoffs before and know what it takes, having advanced to the semi-finals in 2008.

"They're not just great players and experienced players," Matich said. "They're great character players. Having that type of experience from the team last year is huge this time of year."